Geotechnical Engineering–II [CE-321]
BSc Civil Engineering – 5th Semester
Lecture # 11
01-Dec-2019
by
Dr. Jahanzaib Israr
Civil Engg. Dept. – UET Lahore
Email: [email protected]
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Soil Improvement
Methods of soil improvement
Removal and replacement
Precompression
Vertical drains
In-situ densification
Grouting
Stabilization using admixtures
Reinforcement
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Removal and replacement
One of oldest and simplest methods is simply to
remove and replace the soil
Soils that will have to be replaced include
contaminated soils or organic soils
Method is usually practical only above the
groundwater table
3
Precompression
Simply place a surcharge fill on top of the soil
that requires consolidation
Once sufficient consolidation has taken place, the
fill can be removed and construction takes place
Surcharge fills are typically 10-25 feet thick and
generally produces settlement of 1 to 3 feet.
Most effective in clay soil
4
Advantages of precompression
Requires only conventional earthmoving equipment
Any grading contractor can perform the work
Long track record of success
5
Disadvantages of precompression
Surcharge fill must extend horizontally at least
10 m beyond the perimeter of the planned
construction, which may not be possible at
confined sites.
Transport of large quantities of soil required.
Surcharge must remain in place for months or
years, thus delaying construction.
6
Vertical Drains
Vertical drains are installed under a surcharge
load to accelerate the drainage of impervious
soils and thus speed up consolidation
These drains provide a shorter path for the water
to flow through to get away from the soil
Time to drain clay layers can be reduced from
years to a couple of months
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Vertical Drains
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Wick Drains
Geosynthetics used
as a substitute to
sand columns
Installed by being
pushed or vibrated
into the ground
Most are about 100
mm wide and 5 mm
thick
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Typical installation of wick drains
Typically spaced 3 m on
centers
Prefabricated Drains Available
in US
•Alidrain
•Aliwick
•Ameridrain
•Colbond Drain
•Mebradrain
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In-situ densification
Most effective in sands
Methods used in conventional earthwork are only
effective to about 2 m below the surface
In-situ methods like dynamic deep compaction
are for soils deeper than can be compacted from
the surface
Vibratory probe compaction
Long probe mounted onto a vibratory pile driver
compacts the soil around the probe; penetrations
spaced in a grid pattern similar to vertical drains
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Dynamic vs. Vibratory
12
Vibratory probe compaction
13
Beware of transmission of ground
vibrations
14
Vibroflotation
Probe includes the vibrator mechanism and water
jets
Probe is lowered into the ground using a crane
Vibratory eccentric force induces densification
and water jets assist in insertion and extraction
Vibratory probe compaction is effective if silt
content is less than 12-15% and clay is less than
3%
Probes inserted in grid pattern at a spacing of 1.5
to 3 m
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Vibroflotation
Ground Type Relative Effectiveness
Sands Excellent
Silty Sands Marginal to Good
Silts Poor
Clays Not applicable
Mine Spoils Good (if granular)
Dumped Fill Depends upon nature of fill
Garbage Not Applicable
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Vibro-replacement stone columns
Vibro-Replacement extends the range of soils
that can be improved by vibratory techniques to
include cohesive soils. Reinforcement of the soil
with compacted granular columns or "stone
columns" is accomplished by the top-feed
method.
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Vibro-replacement stone columns
Top-feed vibroflot rig
Adding stone in top-feed installation Bottom-feed vibroflot rig
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Dynamic compaction
Uses a special crane
to lift 5-30 tons to
heights of 40 to 100
feet then drop these
weights onto the
ground
Cost effective method
of densifying loose
sands and silty soils
up to 15 to 30 feet
deep
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Grouting
Defined as the injection of a special liquid or
slurry material called grout into the ground for
the purpose of improving the soil or rock
Types of grouts
Cementitious grouts
Chemical grouts
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Grouting methods
Intrusion grouting
Consists of filling joints or fractures with grout
Primary benefit is reduction in hydraulic conductivity
Used to prepare foundation and abutments for dams
Usually done using cementitious grouts
Permeation grouting
Injection of thin grouts into the soil
Once the soil cures, becomes a solid mass
Done using chemical grouts
Used for creating groundwater barriers or preparign ground
before tunneling
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Grouting methods
Compaction grouting
When low-slump
compaction grout is injected
into granular soils, grout
bulbs are formed that
displace and densify the
surrounding loose soils.
Used to repair structures
that have excessive
settlement
22
Grouting methods
Jet grouting
Developed in Japan
Uses a special pipe with horizontal jets that inject grout
into the ground at high pressures
Jet grouting is an erosion/replacement system that
creates an engineered, in situ soil/cement product known
as Soilcretesm. Effective across the widest range of soil
types, and capable of being performed around
subsurface obstructions and in confined spaces, jet
grouting is a versatile and valuable tool for soft soil
stabilization, underpinning, excavation support and
groundwater control.
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Stabilization using admixtures
Most common admixture is Portland Cement
When mixed with soil, forms soil-cement which
is comparable to a weak concrete
Other admixtures include lime and asphalt
Objective is to provide artificial cementation,
thus increasing strength and reducing both
compressibility and hydraulic conductivity
Used to reduce expansion potential of clays
Used in surface mixing applications
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Reinforcement
Soil is stronger in compression than in tension
To improve strength in tension, geosynthetics
placed in soil for soil reinforcement
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Reinforced earthwall construction
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Soil Nailing
The fundamental concept of
soil nailing consists of
reinforcing the ground by
passive inclusions, closely
spaced, to create in-situ a
coherent gravity structure
and thereby to increase
the overall shear strength
of the in-situ soil and
restrain its displacements.
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